Games have evolved from a mode of being played by loading a storage medium with a game program recorded thereon into a game machine, to online games that are played by exchanging data via a communication network pursuant to the advancement of communication technology, and in recent years a mode referred to as “social games” has emerged.
A social game is generally executed with game application software that is provided from a service known as a Social Networking Service (SNS) which is equipped with a communication function and realized by creating a social network online. This social game is one type of online game that is characterized by being played among an unspecified number of users while communicating with each other. Since this social game is run on a web browser which uses an API (Application Program Interface) or the like, a user can enjoy a social game so as long as he/she has a communication terminal with a web browser and which is connectable to the internet.
There are various types of social games themed on battle, action, RPG, puzzle, sports and so on, and a competition game such as a baseball game is also known as one such type of social game. With a competition game, a wide array of variations is included in addition to the competition itself in order to offer greater amusement. As one example, there is a function which allows the user (game player) to customize the ability of one's character to be operated by the user, and, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a function referred to as “enhancement”.
This “enhancement” disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is a function of integrating a baseball player B with a baseball player A and customizing the ability values of the baseball player A by adding a fixed rate of the respective ability values of batting power, running ability, and fielding skill in the baseball player B as a game player character that will disappear once integrated, to the respective ability values of batting power, running ability, and fielding skill in the baseball player A as a game player character (corresponds to a character in this case) to be enhanced. In this enhancement, a fixed number of points is required for performing the enhancement in order to maintain the game balance, and the fixed number of points is consumed from the game player's points when enhancement is performed. These points are referred to as enhancement points, and given based on the user's predetermined operation.
Meanwhile, in the foregoing enhancement, there are cases where provided is a function of collectively integrating, with a single operation, a plurality of baseball players as game player characters with the baseball player A as the game player character to be enhanced. In other words, a plurality of game player characters to be integrated are selected by the user, and the enhancement execution button is operated by the user (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “collective enhancement”, and the ensuing explanation is based on collective enhancement). Here, the points that are consumed in this collective enhancement will be a quantity according to the number of game player characters to be integrated, but when the user does not have enough enhancement points as the points that are consumed in the collective enhancement of the plurality of game player characters selected by the user, enhancement is not executed, and an announcement to the effect that the user does not have enough enhancement points is displayed on the user's communication terminal. Note that there are cases where the points that are consumed in the collective enhancement are (number of characters to be integrated)×(the fixed number of points), or cases where the points that are consumed in the collective enhancement will differ according to the character's parameters (abilities). Thus, after confirming the announcement to the effect that the user does not have enough enhancement points, the user is required to reduce the number of game player characters to be integrated and reselect the game player characters to be selected. Nevertheless, whether collective enhancement can actually be executed after reducing the number of game player characters to be integrated as described above cannot be confirmed until the enhancement execution button is operated, and there was inconvenience in the operability with respect to the possibility that an announcement to the effect that the user does not have enough enhancement points could be displayed again.